Why Everything You Know About Saving Money is Wrong

Buying Small "Luxury Items" Isn't the Reason You Live Paycheck to Paycheck

How Does This Affect Retirement?

Q: What does this all mean for individuals planning for their retirements? What should we do?

"There are a lot of things you can be doing.

First, obviously, try to educate yourself as much as possible. The financial services industry is counting on the fact that you are not educating yourself. If you are getting financial advice, find out if the person you're talking to has a fiduciary duty to you (a legal obligation to act in your best interest). If not, you should really wonder why you're there.

We also need to start talking about our issues. We have a powerful cultural shame in the is country around money. Maybe we all have a problem and we need to discuss this. I don’t think we are going to get anywhere in solving this unless we acknowledge that this is a problem in the collective sense. Most of us are going down together, we just don’t know it.

My third point, conversely, is: Try to relax a little bit. People ask me if this book has changed how I think about money. I think about it more in terms of what I really want. I don’t spend any less, but what I spend I enjoy more."

Sarah Shemkus is an award-winning freelance journalist, marketing enthusiast, accomplished baker, occasional globetrotter and total nerd (with a particular fondness for spreadsheets). Most recently, she reported on business and real estate … Read more...